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A former special adviser to Sir Michael Fallon who was acquitted of sexual assault has said he was cruelly and publicly shamed during a trial that he claims should never have come to court.

Richard Holden said it was a "travesty" that the case against him had been pursued and it added to concerns about the actions of the police and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

He had been accused of groping a woman under her skirt at a party in London in 2016.

The jury of eight men and four women returned unanimous verdicts after deliberating for less than an hour.

Mr Holden said the jury were sent to lunch on Friday at 12.37pm to return to start their deliberations at 2pm. By 2.15pm, he was proved innocent.

The 33-year-old was employed as one of then-defence secretary Sir Michael's media advisers until early last year.

Hitting out at the handling of the case, Mr Holden said: "This case was not about consent. What was alleged did not happen. This allegation was supposed to have taken place in a room of 15 to 20 people, none of whom corroborated the claim.

"Today's unanimous verdict, delivered by the jury in such a short space of time, attests to my innocence, which I have maintained throughout.

"That this case has been pursued at all is a travesty. It has been a cruel public shaming and an utter waste of time ans resources."

Sir Michael FallonCredit:
Leon Neal/PA

In a statement, he said he hoped that the "serious issues raised concerning disclosure and police investigations into alleged sexual crimes by this and many other recent cases will ensure that the police and CPS reflect and instead use the significant resources at their disposal to get justice rather than pursuing spurious allegations".

Mr Holden continued: "The police and CPS have created a victim of me, and victims of my close friends and family - who have suffered this ordeal at my side for a year and a half.

"And, most importantly, it has let down the real victims of awful crimes, as the state spent tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of pounds in pursuing a case so readily dismissed by a jury."

After the jury at Southwark Crown Court returned its verdict, Mr Holden was released from the dock and went over to his girlfriend in court, hugging and kissing her repeatedly.

One of the female jurors nodded and winked at him as she left the courtroom.

Judge Deborah Taylor said: "Obviously the defendant leaves the court without a stain on his character."

Mr Holden said he hoped that he "would again be able to serve the country I love" and the Conservative Party.

Richard HoldenCredit:
Gustavo Valiente/i-Images

The complainant, who is in her 20s, told the jury that Mr Holden kept giving her hugs and telling her how beautiful she was during the party on December 17 2016.

He was alleged to have put his hands around her waist before moving his hands up her skirt and touching her intimately.

Mr Holden, of St Mary's Gardens in Lambeth, south London, said the incident did not occur and added: "I have no idea why she has made up any of this."

He said he was not romantically interested in the woman, he had no physical contact with her on that night and was in a new relationship with his girlfriend, who was also at the party.

He previously held a number of roles for the Tories, and spent several years in the Conservative Party press office.

Richard Holden's statement in full

When anyone walks into a police station to make an allegation they have the right to be treated with sympathy and respect. But the police also have a greater duty to pursue the evidence wherever it leads.

This case was not about consent. What was alleged did not happen. This allegation was supposed to have taken place in a room of 15 to 20 people, none of whom corroborated the claim.

Today's unanimous verdict, delivered by the jury in such a short space of time, attests to my innocence, which I have maintained throughout, as do the judge's closing remarks in this case that "Mr Holden leaves this court without a stain on his character and I hope that he is able to pick up his career where it left off".

That this case has been pursued at all is a travesty. It has been a cruel public shaming and an utter waste of time ans resources.

The police and CPS have created a victim of me, and victims of my close friends and family - who have suffered this ordeal at my side for a year and a half.

And, most importantly, it has let down the real victims of awful crimes, as the state spends tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of pounds in pursuing a case so readily dismissed by a jury.

Those of us who work in politics and public life, and who see it as our vocation, do it out of a deeply ingrained sense of duty. A duty to our communities, and to our country, to help others and help square some of the injustices we see.

I also hope that the serious issues raised concerning disclosure and police investigations into alleged sexual crimes by this and many other recent cases will ensure that the police and CPS reflect and instead use the significant resources at their disposal to get justice rather than pursuing spurious allegations.

I desperately hope that the assurances I received that following the outcome of this case, that I would again be able to serve the country I love, and the party of which I have been a member for almost 20 years, will be made good on.

I would like to thank both Eleanor Laws QC, my barrister, and Mark Troman, my solicitor, who are both true credits to their professions.

As to my friends and family, their love and support, through the darkest of days, often at significant personal sacrifice, has not only maintained my faith in humanity, but has kept me going through the toughest ordeal of my life.

I hope that the police, CPS, and others in authority listen to what I have said, and change their policies accordingly, to ensure that in future, in the pursuit of justice, they don't create more victims but instead get real victims of terrible crimes the justice they deserve.

Aide becomes second Tory staffer to be cleared of a sexual offence in just six months